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For the 5th Gift of Christmas our neighbors gave to us Jars of Peanut Butter!

So jars of peanut butter aren’t exactly as flashy as 5 gold rings but they are just as valuable to us and the people in our community who are food insecure and need some assistance.

Peanut Butter is one of the main staples we include in our food bags that are given to families and individuals in need. Besides being so delicious and versatile, peanut butter adds protein and other health benefits for people of all ages and can quickly satisfy hunger as well as taste buds.

16 oz jars of peanut butter are preferred for their size in our food bags. Any brand or type of peanut butter is welcome. This is an item we are always in desperate need of so please spread the word to your social media contacts.

To donate just stop by our Administrative Office M-F between 8am – 5pm or call us at 301.739.1165 to work something else out if these hours don’t work with your schedule. Thank you for caring and sharing this Christmas season!

The second gift on our list is one that is universally beloved by all: spaghetti sauce! There’s nothing better than sitting down to dinner with a plate filled with hot spaghetti topped off with that delicious sauce.

We are always in need of spaghetti sauce, especially for our food bag program. In every food bag we put simple, easy, and delicious foods that are generally loved by everyone. And spaghetti easily falls into that category. Spaghetti is a quick but nourishing meal that busy families, or families with limited cooking background, can make without a lot of fuss or time.

But our kitchen also loves using spaghetti sauce for various meals for our residents and community guests so we go through spaghetti sauce quite frequently.

Any donation of spaghetti sauce is welcome but we do ask for 24 oz jars so they can easily fit into a food bag. No matter the brand or the flavoring of the sauce – we’ll use it! And if you’re feeling extra Italian at the grocery store and want to pick up some boxes of spaghetti then we most certainly will gladly accept those as well!

To donate please call 301.739.1165 or email hagerstownrescue@verizon.net. Or just swing by and drop off any donations to our office between 8am – 5pm M-F. And please help us by spreading our Christmas wish list to all your friends, family, co-workers, church, civic group or scout troops.

Americans are probably the most generous group of people on earth. This is being said without any actual statistics or facts to back it up but we’re just going on a hunch that we’re right about that claim.

But getting people to give or give back is not always easy since Americans are also probably the busiest group of people on earth. Getting involved and helping in the community is high on most people’s “must do” list but often times it is difficult because of all the demands of daily living. And that’s why the Governor created the Day To Serve.

The Day To Serve is an annual program to encourage volunteerism in the State of Maryland. The Governor of Maryland established this day andgo asked Marylanders to get involved in their communities between September 10th and October 10th.

A group of Maryland state employees consisting of Roberta Barkley, Barbara Allen, Amy Miller and Tracy Leb decided to host a food drive at a local grocery store. After contacting several stores, Save-A-Lot allowed the ladies to set up their food drive in front of their store. So on September 23rd, these woman hosted a food drive to benefit The Hope Center at Hagerstown Rescue Mission at the Save-A-Lot store in the South End Shopping Center.

This was the first food drive that they’ve hosted and were very pleased with the amount of food given and support from the community in helping others. In fact, the ladies were able to collect 350 pounds of food for The Hope Center pantry! Roberta, the food drive organizer, chose The Hope Center because she said she liked knowing exactly where the donation would be going and who it would be helping.

At The Hope Center, we feed thousands upon thousands of people a year. We don’t just feed the men who are in our residential rehabilitation program. We feed the homeless. We feed families. We feed anyone who needs a meal. Whether it’s a hot meal served at our daily Soup Line or it’s a bag of groceries given to a needy family, our kitchen and pantry is constantly busy making sure no one in our community misses a meal.

But with all the food that we serve or give out, our panty is in constant need of replenishment. And that’s why food drives like the one that Roberta, Barbara, Amy & Tracy hosted are so important to us at The Hope Center. Food can get costly and feeding thousands could easily break the budget but the generous support of people in our community helps to make sure that we can continue to feed and help people without costing them a cent or using tax money.

In addition to asking for food donations, Roberta contacted local dentist offices asking for donations of toothbrushes and paste. Two generous offices, Robinwood Dental Center & Dr. Toothman’s, gave the toothbrushes and toothpaste for the food drive. Personal care items such as toothpaste, brushes, deodorant and soaps are very important too as we give these items to our residents, overnight homeless guests and anyone who may need them. As simple as these items may seem, they can quickly help restore a persons value.

We want to give a huge thank you to Roberta, Barbara, Amy & Tracy for putting together this food drive and taking time out of their busy schedules to get the community involved in helping others. And we want to thank the Save-A-Lot store for allowing these ladies to host their food drive at that location. Another big thank you to Robinwood Dental & Dr. Toothman for donating the toothbrushes & paste for our guests.

Have you been inspired to host a food drive? Maybe you just want to get your family involved with giving food. If you’d like to learn more about how you can help feed your neighbors in Hagerstown then call 301.739.1165 or email hagerstownrescue@verizon.net.

The church provided approximately 460 pounds of non-perishable food for our food ministry! We are so thankful for their generous donation to help feed the needy in Hagerstown.

Our food program is one of the most vital parts of our entire ministry for our guests. From food bags to multiple free meals throughout the day, our kitchen and pantry is always busy, and sometimes short on necessary items.

Food drives, like the one hosted by The Good Shepherd Ministries, are an important resource for our ministry. When you feed hundreds of people a week while also providing families with bags of groceries to supplement their own pantries, you can go through a lot of food. Food drives ensure that our pantry is always stocked and ready to meet the needs of our community.

Since everything we do at The Hope Center is free, and free from any tax money, we rely heavily on the generous support from churches, individuals, civic clubs, Scout programs and more to help keep our facility open, operational and free for anyone who is in need.

Thank you again to The Good Shepherd Ministries for partnering with us to help combat hunger in Hagerstown. If you’re currently looking for a church to attend, visit The Good Shepherd Ministries. For more info about this great body of Believers, go to http://www.mytgsm.com.

If you would like to host a food drive to benefit The Hope Center but just aren’t quite sure how to do so, contact us and we’ll gladly help you out. Call 301.739.1165 or email hagerstownrescue@verizon.net.

And don’t forget that in April our 2nd Annual Rock the Run: A Race for Hope is taking place at Fairgrounds Park. On Saturday April 23rd, join fellow runners, joggers & walkers as we hit the streets to raise support and awareness for homelessness and hunger in Hagerstown. It’s a simple and fun way to make a difference in the community and help neighbors in need. Go to http://www.rocktherunhagerstown.com to learn more.

Men in our residential program, Foundations Life Recovery, wanted to start the year off right by thanking all the many donors who have helped to keep The Hope Center open and running.

Our donors play a pivotal role in the lives of the men in our residential program. Without their continued & faithful support, many of these men would be lost, alone and homeless.

The financial support provided by our friends keeps this facility open every day of the year and free of charge for men seeking help for their addictions and troubled situations.

Our residents are always extremely thankful for the assistance given to them at The Hope Center. They understand that there are hundreds to thousands of people who are rooting for them and cheering them on to make the necessary changes in their lives so they can live victorious in the future.

Recently, the men wrote down some brief notes of gratitude to our donors. Some men chose to include their names, others didn’t. But all of these quotes are genuine and from the heart! Please read through these notes and remember to pray for each of these men as they battle their addictions and life struggles.

A Note of Thank You From Our Residents!

Just want to thank you for all that you do for this program because it’s helping me to change my life around and get close to God. ~Melvin

Never before have I seen such generosity as I see here. I am very grateful for the help given to me and the other men here. ~Frank

Thank you that you let God work through you and use you to make a difference in people’s lives.

Thank you for all your love! ~Connor

God bless you and I thank you for the donations that are continually given. We appreciate it. May the Lord bless you. ~Dustin

I want to thank you for giving me a place to get a relationship with God and become a better man.

I look up to, and respect, people that stand in the gap where God placed them to be able to help His people. And an extra blessing are the ones who do it with a warm smile. ~Kevin

Thank you very much. You truly are a life-saver!

Many thanks to the donors and volunteers and guest preachers. Your generosity and loving kindness help us greatly and makes a difference.

Many thanks and blessings to all you guys. God bless you all for everything you guys have done. I’m so thankful. My heart can’t explain the gratitude I feel. Thanks from the bottom of my heart. I love you all!

Again, thank you for supporting this ministry! We can’t say it any better than our residents but we appreciate your support every single day! You may not be able to see the full impact of your gift but we do, our guys do, and most importantly, God does.

If you are not a current supporter of this ministry, why not start the new year by making a resolution to partner with us to bring hope to the lives of thousands of people in the greater Hagerstown region this year?

Your financial support helps men in our Foundations Life Recovery program, provides overnight shelter for homeless men, feeds daytime guests from the community looking for a nourishing & hot meal, provides food bags for hungry families, gives at-risk children a safe after school program and free summer camp, and many other programs for people of all ages.

The Hope Center does not receive any tax money so our facilities and programs are fully funded through the generous support of our friends.

Now is the perfect time for you to join us in battling hunger, despair, addiction and hopelessness in Hagerstown.

As we welcome the new year and look forward to all the great things God has in store, we want to take a moment to look back at this past year and thank God for all His blessings.

So many lives were touched and people reached in 2013. From meals at our Soup Line, to kids at Camp Wild, to men in our Foundations Life Recovery program, so many people were helped and shown God’s love this year.

2013 couldn’t have been such a great year without the continued support from all of our friends, not just in the Hagerstown area, but all over the country! God has provided us with such faithful supporters who truly believe in the power of HOPE. We thank each of you for your support, whether it was financial, in-kind gifts, volunteering or any other way, we appreciate your dedication to this ministry and we thank you for sharing our passion to reach the hurting for Christ.

As we look to 2014, we ask that you continue to partner with us to bring real hope & change to Hagerstown. As we continue to help the needy, hurting, addicted and homeless, we are also working on new projects and ministries to reach more people for Christ. Please join us in praying for our current ministries and the people who are being helped. Also, please pray for God to open doors for new areas of ministry in Hagerstown and the surrounding areas.

Thank you so much for all you do! We hope that you’ve had a great 2013 and it’s our prayer that 2014 is even better! Happy New Year!

As our way of saying goodbye to 2013, we’re posting some pictures from various events this year at The Hope Center. These pictures are images of staff, volunteers, residents and guests. Enjoy!